Coming Home
by xxTunstall Chickxx
Summary: Alanna comes home for the first time in a long while. The children are grown and the Lioness' face is lined with the years. Alanna realizes that coming home will never be the same. One-shot. --xxTunstall Chickxx


**Music you should listen to while reading: The Hornburg by Howard Shore**

**Thank you to my beta _Tamora Pierce Junior_, you're great, as always.**

**I've just realized that this is my first Alanna drabble!**

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**Coming Home**

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It had been a while since Alanna the Lioness had been home. Some would say it was because of her job, so busy she barely had time to think, let alone take a break. She knew different.

She was scared, in a way, of going home. And Alanna the Lioness was not someone who scared easily. She was not scared of the heights, of the harbour, of her enemies; she was scared of the emptiness.

Sure, her husband and his people were there, they were loud and cheerful, good people. But Alanna was no longer young. She was no longer the fresh, untried woman she was. And when she rode into Pirate's Swoop she no longer heard the cries of her children, no longer felt them climb onto her back.

Perhaps that was what she was scared of. She was scared of seeing her children all grown up, scared because she knew they didn't need her anymore.

Thom, the quietest, smartest of the three was quickly becoming one of the best Tortallan mages of this time. There was no more magic she could teach him that his advanced teachers couldn't. There were no books she could suggest that he hadn't read.

Alan. Alan the knight, the only one that had followed her profession. A twin just like she had been. He had a knight-master now; he no longer needed her as a teacher. He was a good knight himself already. He no longer needed her for motherly advice. He had been the cuddliest one, and now he was a strapping young lad. One that no longer jumped on his mother's back. She had always grumbled at him for it, but she had liked it. And now, now, she no longer had it.

Aly. Blessed Aly. How she and Aly had fought. How they had argued and yelled. And when Aly had left, there had been agonizing months of silence. Nothing. Alanna had no way of knowing if Alianne was even alive. And now she had a husband and triplets, now she had love and a job that kept her busy. She too had done great things already, and she was so, so young.

The gates to Pirate's Swoop opened, and she realized she had not been back for a very long time. She slipped off her horse and headed towards the stable.

Then she saw her husband making his way towards her. Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop had aged well, but he had aged none the less. Alanna saw with surprise that there were many wrinkles near his eyes. She pulled her battered pink mirror out. The same one Thom had given her many, many years ago. She shut it with a snap, she had them too. She felt so old.

George kissed her like he always had, with all the love in the world. He wrapped a large, calloused hand into her equally calloused albeit smaller one. Together they walked to the stable where she would put her horse. Upon entering she looked back to the courtyard one last time, there they were, laughing, jumping on each other. Yelling. For a fleeting moment she saw three little children barreling towards her. They had giant smiles on their faces as they pelted forwards.

With a blink they were gone.

The courtyard was empty.

Yes, Alanna the Lioness was home finally, but home didn't feel like it used to. She had always wanted for her children to grow up, to become something, she had wanted to be alone with her beloved husband. Now she wished they were little children again. Oh, she felt like a silly old mother!

But as a tear slid down her cheek, making it's lonely way down, she realized that coming home would never be the same. Every turn of her head she saw a memory of what used to be, times long passed, times that would never be again.

But the courtyard was still the same, and the wind still blew the musky sea smell from the harbour. George was still George and Pirate's Swoop was still beautiful as she'd remembered it. Some things never changed. Life moved on, and before Alanna became too caught up in memories, she reminded herself that she was finally home now.

Home, sweet home.

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**I suffer from a severe case of Writer's Block for my stories. I'm sorry, I'm really trying. At least I'm free from exams, so more time to write. This was inspired by a post in Plot Auction thread on the Ficship Competitions forum. Go check it out, we're still accepting nominations too.**

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**Keep Reading,**

**xxTunstall Chickxx**

**22/06/09  
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